A Winter in Hell
Sometimes Being "The Soldier" Isn't an Option. . . All George wanted to do was bring the boys back home, but he quickly learned that wasn't an option when his platoon was separated from the rest of Bravo Company. Not everyone can be a hero, but George Lewis always tried to be the best example to his soldiers. Winter was upon them, but hiding away wouldn't do them any good in a world of dragons and angry communists. Every choice comes with a cost no matter how small, but sometimes even the best decisions will leave you scarred, or even dead. Author's Note. . . This is made for the Winter Contest, so I finally get an excuse to make an epistolary. I would very much appreciate it if you noted my spelling or grammar errors and commented. I do appreciate feedback, and thanks for the support! ---- Entry 1 - The Creation of Something New So this is my notebook. I don't really know why I'm calling it this, but it is certainly less dorky than calling this a "diary." I'm a soldier; such a thing isn't socially acceptable anymore. If you somehow manage to get your hands on this then I'm the only "George Lewis" in B/2-3 INF. The date should be November 3rd, 2005 by now. I still find it weird that we haven't been able to contact home yet, and everyone who works the lasers is all hushed-up about it. P.S. I can't wait to see 705, we are still in the outskirts, but I haven't gotten a chance to spot it yet. Hopefully it is just as awesome as the other planets we've passed by. Entry 2 - It's Really Stinky in Here February 25th, 2006 I forgot to put the date above in my first entry like I should have. Not really much has happened in the past few months, and all we've done is linger around in this tin can. Recently, it has really started to smell bad. Like combine BO and a few thousand pounds of rotten food and you've nailed it. Supposedly they ran into problems with the incinerator, and have had to move to "alternate methods" of waste disposal. Whatever method they're using, they still need to fix the ventilation! Those engineers should really get on the move anyways, because from what I've heard, they have become a lazy bunch recently. Anyways, I don't know how much longer we will be up here. Hmm, I think I should write a little bit more. The few times I do look down upon 705, it has looked pretty stunning. Is it just me, or do two of the continents look a bit like dragons? You know, those giant fire-breathing lizards with wings? Those are kinda cool, but they would probably be pretty scary if we managed to come across an actual one (if they even exist). Entry 3 - They Finally Fixed It October 15th, 2006 Finally, the stinky air has cleared out. Those darn lazy engineers took forever to fix that incinerator, and that was only in March! Then there was this crispy smell, so they took another century fixing that. Then it lingered, and they did nothing more than what they had already done to improve the ventilation. It sort of gradually disappeared, but today I woke up, and I could feel that it was gone. Wow, I haven't wrote in this thing for a while, but that sorta makes sense when you did something stupid like hide it inside one of the wall panels. Hopefully I don't do that again, maybe I can shove it underneath the mattress. I wasn't expecting this journey to take this long, but that's what I signed up for. I still cannot believe that we haven't gotten a contact from Earth yet, it's sorta suspicious. This time the laser guys said it was because Earth was a thousand light years away, but I don't think that's entirely correct. I know time works kinda funnily over distances, so they should have already planned for that when it comes to communication. Can't they just hijack the warp system or something like that, because if I'm correct a thousand light years would a two thousand years to get an answer. Entry 4 - God Bless America July 4th, 2007 We're here! On the surface of 705! It's a bit south of Continent B, the funky looking dragon one. We had just got here the day before, and there were fireworks tonight! On that damn ship I had a feeling that I would never see those again, but here goes the army, proving me wrong. You know how else they proved me wrong? I still haven't got promoted yet, even though I took special care of that stinky tin can. Why am I even writing on this? Well, I did find it underneath my mattress when I cleaned out the bunk room in the pod. That thing almost made me puke when we were coming down, and I swear the pilot wanted us all dead. I mean, he really did cut it close with the parachute deployment. I'm still glad to be off that ship, but we are probably going to spend another five years in this place based on the rate things have been going. I walked on the beaches with a patrol earlier, and this place is stunning. It isn't fully developed yet, so I still get to see how big everything is. Almost everything here is colossal, and there were coconuts bigger than yoga balls on the palms. It was the ocean that was stunning though, because it was clean, cleaner than the Pacific was the few times I went there as a kid. Entry 5 - THERE IS A DRAGON January 18th, 2008 It has been a while, and we have pretty much turned this island into a factory. I'm so lucky that I'm not one of those grunts in the mines, or one of the engineers messing around with the powder. I have no idea how they keep it so dry in there, because that moist ocean air must somehow find a way to get into that building. Otherwise, there are some other interesting things going on today. That's right, there is a damn dragon in our base of operations now. He might not really like the sound of the planes, but it sucks to suck. I'm not the one who got himself captured by foreigners. They brought him in with a CH-47, but I could tell by the look on his face that he was hanging on for his own life. They restrained him in almost every way possible, except half the cables broke in flight. I had to deal with a lot of chicken-crap to even get close to him, and you know what else he can do besides hang onto a helicopter? He can speak, IN ENGLISH. I stood in front of him, and said "hello" and then he responded "can you help me get out of here" and I was like "you're going to be stuck in that cage for much longer if that's what you're only going to talk about." So he just looked at me, and his expressions were very human. It was the awkward can-you-please-leave-me-alone look, not the savage death stare that I had imagined. Entry 6 - We Need More Oil June 30th, 2009 So that dragon has a name. Crimson, that's his only name, so how is he going to be differentiated from all the other crimsons? They seriously messed up there in dragon society. Recently he has been doing some some heavy lifting. Moving tanks is pretty difficult, but he somehow manages. I actually got to know this dragon better too, and now everyone's calling me "the dragon-whisperer." He finds himself bored all the time, and likes war stories, like when I was in Iraq. He also will tell stories of his own, but he is mostly interested in knowledge. It must be an eye-strain reading those old war books, like the one on Patton. Yet the dragon finds himself finishing all of this stuff so quickly. And their culture? It's pretty weird, because they have Queens. He really has sucked up lots of propaganda, because he keeps on saying that his home is "so great and free." Yet it's pretty funny to see me saying that when I've already spent five years away from home on this expedition. Anyways, why are we moving tanks with a dragon? About that oil, well some of it just disappeared, like a lot of darn oil. So we need to conserve as much fuel as we can, so we can maintain a surplus of oil just in case. The engineers are also working on another well, and they're not the lazy ones that were working on The Challenger. I don't even know why they called it that, because that's the name of the space shuttle that exploded. Entry 7 - We're Leaving Soon September 26th, 2010 We just let the dragon go, because there was some sort of treaty or pact that happened outside the base of operations. He was interesting to be around, but I still think I got the short end of the stick when it comes to information about our cultures. He barley said anything about that, other than that they were really free and their current queen was much better than the last one who worked and starved everyone. Sound familiar? Because Stalin did the same thing. Supposedly The Third Infantry is going to be deployed soon too. That's right, I'm finally going to get to see the rest of this world, and some red scumboys. When they mess with me they certainly are going to get a beating, and I can't wait to get another warthog run on some baddies. Hopefully my division gets one of the less active areas, so the chances of dying are lower. I still think they'll make us dig in anyways. We are now training much more, and I'm finally getting the shot clusters I want with the new rifles. We weren't allowed to use them on the ship, so I was a bit rusty when I got back into shooting. That, along with conditioning is what we are going to do as much as possible before we get deployed. Did I mention that we also got winter gear? I heard that they haven't been able to do that since World War Two, but that's probably false. Entry 8 - Riders on the Storm January 5th, 2011 We are finally moving, after being on high alert for THREE MONTHS STRAIGHT. They kept on delaying when we were being deployed, and it was so annoying, and I got really grumpy from sleep deprivation. It wasn't until about two weeks ago when they declared that we were being deployed on the fifth, no matter what. A few minutes ago we went straight through a storm, and I think I can see our destination ahead. I also can see some dragon cities? I don't know, everything is way to big compared to the scale of the FOB. Wait, there's even more chicken-crap. It's in a desert, and we are wearing WINTER GEAR. I'm going to be really angry if the me and boys are forced to fight in the desert with these on. I can already tell how hot it is just because of how stuffy this plane is. Maybe I'll get to shoot some communists too, so that may be a redeeming factor. Otherwise, I hope we get out of the desert fast. Hopefully it's helicopters, but I think we may be stuck in a Stryker or a Bradley for a few hours. Or even worse, a Humvee. Especially if we get shot at, because back in Iraq the splinters used to bounce around in those things. On a last note, we did have turkey on Christmas Eve. It was the best turkey I've ever had, and someone said it came from the mainland. It was at least twice as big as those farm-raised ones back home, and they caught it wild! Who knows how big everything else is here, because I still haven't seen anything else besides those long-gone tropical palms. Entry 9 - Winter Wonderland January 8th, 2011 After a two day ride in those blasted Humvees, we have finally arrived to our destination. The high altitude forests are covered in snow, so I sure am glad that I kept that winter gear. You know what else I noticed? Whenever we were on the move, one of the drivers would latch a blue reflective plate onto the top of the Humvee. I don't know what that means exactly, but I remember reading about reflective plates being used in World War Two for identifying friendly vehicles from the sky. We were not attacked once, although I saw a bunch of red and orange dragons flying in formation when we got into the mountains. I think those types are suppossed to be called Sky Dragons? They didn't attack us though, and we continued until we were just on the edges of where the forest ended and the marshes began. Nobody came out from the cover of the forest to go walk on the frozen mud, as it looked like a death trap, especially since the soviets are supposed to be on the other side. No wonder this place is so silent, because any loud noise or disruption could bring gunfire from anywhere. The only good time of attack would be night, but even that would be suicidal. Flares would light up the frozen ice, and dug in soldiers and Bradleys would annihilate them. It's the perfect place to be, except for when your supposed to dig a foxhole. I don't have to do that though, but the grunts do. We set up our outpost a little behind the foxholes, but it still has a good vantage for the observer. It's a little ramshackle, but we will work on it more tonight. Hopefully it doesn't snow again, because that would really suck. That means all of us would be covered in it, because this thing still doesn't have a roof. Entry 10 - Cracks in the Ice January 9th, 2011 I'm really tired, but I'll manage some more writing today. Lots of things happened, and now there are cracks in the ice. It looked like an entire company attempted to cross no-man's land, so we shelled em till everything was completely still. In response there was this whooshing noise, and their rockets fell just before the forest edge. Surprisingly, nobody in my platoon was hurt. The entire soviet company is gone too, and a few of their apcs are busted right in the middle. I'm a bit worried about that, as it looks like good cover, along with the shell holes everywhere. I do have some hope that those cracks in the ice with leak water, but I don't think it will have much effect. Now that I'm thinking abut it, I'm sure nothing of that sort would happen if the ice is as deep as I think it is. So I notified Major Smith about the apcs, and suggested that he sent some engineers to destroy the cover. Nothing has happened yet though. I do think I got a few reds myself, but it's not confirmed. Otherwise, I'm also pretty tired from finishing off this hut. It looks really convincing, because we dug much in more and covered the roof with snow. It might by shell proof, because we dragged some thick logs and layered a bunch of pine boughs and soil on top. I still don't like the idea that a shell could hit here, but hopefully we are able to dig this out more and make it more windproof. The observer's hole certainly is a problem, because cold air keeps on blowing through. Entry 11 - Let it Snow January 16th, 2011 Its been snowing way too much. It's not a blizzard yet, but I have a sinking feeling that it's next on the queue. It's at least a foot deep now, and pretty much any sign of our existence is hidden in the white expanse. If our outposts and foxholes were already noticeable, then they definitely aren't now. The only problem is that they moved the Bradleys. Those damn commies are shelling the absolute crap out of us right now, and hopefully I don't die. I don't like it one bit, and we still haven't been ordered to do anything. This place is literally hell, and my ears are already feeling the heat. I hear whooshing now, I think that's the rocket artillery AGAIN. Well, the shelling just stopped. I think they're coming, like right now. It's still dead silent when I peek my head out, and I can still see those wrecked APCs. I also saw someone being dragged on a stretcher, hopefully they don't die. I may have to go take some numbers, and have someone report the casualties to HQ. Entry 12 - Blizzard January 18th, 2011 We were ordered to counterattack. We have taken their trenches and destroyed their morale. It's a breakthrough, and we've only stopped because there's a big lake in front of us, and the ice doesn't look stable enough for the Bradleys. It looks really thin, and I can't see to the other side. Most likely there's just jungle or rain forest. I don't know which, because I don't really remember the difference between the two. Our flanks are exposed right now, and the jungle is to the south. Nobody sent to scout that area comes back, just like what happened to my uncle in Vietnam. His group went out with a few other soldiers, and they just vanished. They still have him listed as MIA to this day. Who knows what actually happened to him, because we probably wont know till the end of the universe. I have a bad feeling if we push any farther that we may soon encounter dragons, and I have a feeling that we're also not the only ones making treaties. I still have no idea how far we've gone or what tribe's territory we are in. Almost everyone is missing a map because those damn lards working the rear didn't give us any. Only the division HQ has a real map, and it's an early one from 07.' I just went out to account for my platoon. Observer is gone, last time I saw him was when he said he was going to look for a good observation post. We are missing one of our fire teams, leaving one squad undermanned. HQ also just ordered us to push on further, to the North. It's really starting to get stormy now, but orders are orders. Entry 13 - The Mud Castle January 19th, 2011 This is not good. We just passed by the Mud Castle. There were the mud dragons everywhere, and they have already destroyed one of our squads. Numbers aren't looking good now, and our radioman was eaten whole. We lost contact with the rest of our company because of that. About that castle? It looks really big, but it doesn't look like it would hold up to this kind of winter. Right now we are dangerously close to the Mud Castle. We managed to find a hot spring in the cave, but the entrance is very obvious. It's a bit crowded with twenty men in here, but that's because we are just really bunching up right now. Maybe the water will be good, and I can refill with something other than boiled snow that may or may not have been stepped on. Are those voices I hear up there? Two mud dragons in the water now. They're dead, so I'm not even thinking about attempting to purify that water now. One managed to drag one of the boys in, and he's in pretty bad shape. Otherwise, we are going to move out ASAP. The gunshots might have attracted attention, and we need to get out of here fast. Entry 14 - Down the River January 20th, 2011 So we ran into the storm. We didn't stop, and we could hear the wing beats passing over us. It was almost like a hornet's nest, but with big angry mud dragons. We managed to make it out, and we are now pursuing the course of a river. It should lead to the sea, although that would not be the best idea as of now. There are supposed to be dragons in the sea, so they would probably be just as dangerous as these mud ones. We need to regroup with the company. We can't sustain this anymore, and we are practically out of food now. We're stuck behind enemy lines, and it's in the middle of winter. I'm going to send some men out to hunt, maybe we can even put together some makeshift suppressors to reduce our noise signature. Hopefully the spares from the dead soldiers we looted will work fine. We took what few extra flashlights we had, and managed to craft a few suppressors. I sent out the men who claimed to be the best at hunting, and hopefully they come back soon. I don't see how a few hunters could provide for our twenty man remnants of a platoon, but hopefully they do provide. Even if it's a bunch of giant mice or something, that would not have enough meat for our group. You wouldn't believe the size of the rabbits here. Maybe we do have hope, but regrouping is almost impossible now. When it cleared up, we saw the line. We have no means of communication, no map, but we do have hope. I know what we need to do now. Heroes don't win wars, so sometimes you have to play dirty. Entry 15 - Shadows Crawling in the Walls January 21st, 2011 Today we found another cave system when we were taking refuge from a blizzard. It was huge, big enough for a dragon to fit into. One thing was off though, as no dragons were present. We explored the cave until we found a segment small enough for only us to fit into, which was mostly blocked by a collapse. We continued to explore, and everyone started to get really creeped out. It was almost as if shadows were hiding inside the walls, and my most primordial senses were triggered. Yet we forged on, until we were greeted with a dragon-sized altar. It was an exotically carved alcove, which had a snake consuming itself in the shape of an infinity symbol engraved on either side. In the center, above a large bowl of offering, the words "WHAT WAS SHALL BE WHAT SHALL BE WAS" were carved into the stone. We ran, and the shadows inside of the wall crawled along with us. We didn't stop until we exited the cave, and continued much further in the now mysteriously clear sky. We made camp in a ruined mud shack, and I sent out the hunters. When they came back, we roasted an enormously large snake, which had been found above a natural hot spring hanging on a tree. That's when I took head count. I'm telling you this isn't right at all, but we now have twenty-five men. How did we even gain them? They looked like they fit in, and when I asked someone else about it they straight out denied my theory and claimed that they had been with us since we came here. Then again, what will be, was. Entry 16 - LOOPS January 22, 2011 We continued down the river almost the entire day. By the time we had stopped, the ocean was within clear view. We didn't continue from there, as we had heard rumors of an aquatic dragon type back at base. They were supposed to be blue and green dragons with gills on their necks. Like most dragons, we could probably handle them by shooting their soft spots a lot. We didn't want to take the risk though, as almost every dragon we've seen is unpredictable and dangerous. So how did we get so far? It actually didn't make any sense at all that we are here now. We traveled in loops for most of the day, and we kept on coming across the same mysterious cave. It was even more anomalous, that every time we traveled, I made sure we took a straight bearing with my compass. The loop continued, until we somehow reached the end. I'm still on nerve, but tomorrow I think we may start attempting to jimmy a radio somehow, and possibly look for nearby soviet encampments. Our suppressors are already mostly worn out, and I've made the verdict that we need to raid the nearest encampment we find. We need the supplies, and if we happen to come across any welding equipment, then we'll be able to construct more reliable methods of suppression. Entry 17 - Somehow Not Breaking the Geneva Convention January 24, 2011 We are all in uniform? Right? So that means they can't execute us for being spies if any of us surrender. But based on what we just did, I think they'll kill us anyways. We managed to come across a logistics depot, and you guessed it: We absolutely destroyed them and took what supplies we could use. Everything else we burnt, including the welding machines which we managed to find. Surprisingly not one of them surrendered, and we caught them with their pants down. All of them were sleeping when we raided it in the middle of the night. They actually outnumbered us, but the element of surprise always works. Now we are in hiding, as we are waiting for the patrols to die down. I don't think any of us broke any of the laws, but who knows what the law really is on this planet. So we are actually pretty close to the sea. We already had one logical reason to not light a fire, but now we have two. You know why? Those darn Ocean Dragons are everywhere, and I mean everywhere. I'll see one of their heads pop up out of the water every now and then, and none of us know what their loyalties are. We're not taking the risk of getting their attention, because pretty much any disturbance at all could lead to our death. If something bad does happen, then hopefully we can just shift some more men into reality. I do need more men right now, and even if some more just mysteriously appeared from the shadows I'll accept them. Finally, I hope that the one guy who got shot gets better. Our field medic is one of them, so hopefully nothing bad happens. Entry 18 - Red Tide January 25th, 2011 There are bodies all over the shore. At least twenty dead Ocean Dragons within sight just from this little beach. All of them look pretty similar too, although one was pink. This was pretty suspicious, so I went down to check it out with some of the boys. I actually caught Daniel? Is that his name? Well, he was looting one of the dragons. Turns out this one had this strange pearl bracelet, and I had him throw it out to sea. You know what the best part was? That dragon was somehow still alive, and almost snapped off his hand. Even stranger? Most of these dragons were pretty similar in looks, and they had all the same loops on their wings. After that dragon nearly bit off his hand, we left a different way and doubled back when I was sure not a single living thing was looking. Who knows what happened, but it does have the taste of revolution in it, sort of like how the French got rid of their noblemen during the revolution. Who knows what they were killed for, because now we know that we certainly cannot get spotted by those darn Sea Dragons. We probably are going to stay here another night, and then move somewhere else. Still, all the dead dragons being around is pretty creepy. I don't want to spend another night here after that. Entry 19 - Impossibly Far January 29th, 2011 I haven't been able to write the past few days. We've traveled too far, impossibly far. If we were somewhere on that map, then we would be at the bottom of that wing, somewhere between the mountains and the sea. We passed over a delta this morning, and somehow managed to avoid Mud Dragon nestings. I thought we weren't given any maps, but I discovered one of the men had one. He seemed to think everyone had a copy, even though we didn't. All day my hair's been on end. I can feel it on the back of my neck, and I think something is watching us. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Russians came jumping out of the snow with rifles and all. I know they are on our tail, but how far behind are they? We can't keep on running forever, and if we do? Then we certainly would not stand a chance. We need to find a place to hold out, specifically one with the high ground. I don't know if we will make it any farther. I saw SkyWings? Is that what he called them? Anyways, they were circling the mountains. We are going to head up to the mountains, and seize the high ground. Crimson said that they were supposed to patrol the mountains a lot, so hopefully we get noticed and possibly rescued. Entry 20 - New Stalingrad January 30th, 2011 We have taken one of the only ridges that leads to the peak of one of the mountains. We aren't at the peak, but there is only one way up. It's one of the best positions we could have now, especially because of the height advantage we have. Just by taking a look downhill I can easily make out the silhouettes of the reds ascending our way. I have issued orders to fortify this position as well as we can. They are digging foxholes and making blatantly obvious mock ones to draw fire. I told them to dig deep, because there is only one thing that really worries me. They have artillery, and we don't even have a radio. We don't have that advantage at all, and I know for a fact that they are going to shell the crap out of us. Who knows when I'll next write in this, as times are about to be tense here. If everything goes as planned, and even if it deviates, this is going to be Stalingrad all over again. A small pocket of determined soldiers. Soldiers that aren't just going to surrender. We already know dying is preferable to surrendering, because spending time freezing and starving in a gulag is preferably not my way to leave this world. Entry 21 - The End February ??th, 2011 Who knows what the day is. Nobody knows anything anymore these days, except for the eternal struggle we've been going through. I've been in and out these days. There's shrapnel in my pants, and god knows how many times I've been hit. I'm warm for some reason and slowly dying, but I've taken my share with me. I do certainly regret it now, because it's just wrong. Why should I have the power to take life away so quickly? This isn't even our home, so we shouldn't have the right to be doing this. I can already tell it's the end. I have already accepted the fact that I am going to die. I fought for my country, and I am for certain going to die for it. I'm even thinking of my family now. Do they miss me? Are they even alive anymore? I miss them, but hopefully I made them proud. No reason for them not to be, as I know I did my best. Some of the boys will make it out alive, but my time is almost up. I just dragged myself outside of the foxhole. It's really nice out here, and I feel fine. The northern lights are amazing. I have never, ever seen them with this many bright and vibrant colors. The blues and the greens and the pinks and the purples and the cyans. This world is beautiful, more beautiful than Alaska was when I went on the trip there with my dad. I could even fall asleep watching the stars here. You know what? That's what I'm going to do, I'm pretty sure the commies already have ditched the butte thinking everyone is dead here. Epilogue Sometime During the 2nd Month of 5020 AS SkyWing patrols usually never explored this area. One simple reason kept them away almost 99% of all times they pass by this area. Going here meant death. Pretty much every patrol that checked this area was either slaughtered or severely wounded. Sometimes survivors would come back from here, flying on shallow breaths and staggered wing beats. So why did Harrier want to check this area out? Nobody knew, besides what he had said about seeing something strange going on around here a day before. Ridge certainly didn't want to be tossed out of the sky by a missile, and so did everyone else on the patrol. Yet they still followed their patrol leader to a strangely scarred butte a short ways out from the safety of the mountains. It wasn't until they landed on the fresh snow that they realized what had happened here. "Whoosh, here it is," Harrier said triumphantly. "I don't see anything important here. Why don't we leave before we get killed or something," Ridge responded. The morning sun just now lifted itself over the horizon, and revealed the layers of red hidden under last night's snowfall. Even Ridge knew that snow algae never made it that shade of red. "Three moons," Summit gasped. Summit was the last of the three dragons on this patrol, and probably the best fighter. She paced around the clearing, until suddenly one of her feet plunged through the snow. She froze, completely still, until she plucked something tiny out of the snow. "Ridge, come check this out," she called to him. Ridge rushed over, skidding to a stop in the snow. She put the object under his face, and asked him to read it. "I can't read what it says on there, it's too small." Ridge scanned the hard black surface of the thing, until he spotted the smallest words he had ever seen in his life. "It says Second Loo-tenant," Ridge hesitated, "Ge-orge Lew-is." He handed the nearly frozen object back to Summit, and nearly leaped back. It was a scavenger, frozen on his back. The scavenger's eyes were closed beneath it's weird glasses, and it's expression was peaceful for some reason. Out of all those things, it was the stars and stripes assaulting forward that stuck out. The scales on his neck felt bothered for a moment, and he looked back. Cold eyes and steel stared back, aimed for his head. It was another scavenger, and this one was still alive. If Ridge was correct, this one was supposed to be an American. ---- THE END ---- Category:Content (Eleven Fifty Two) Category:Fanfictions Category:Fanfictions (Semi-Canon) Category:Genre (Epistolary) __FORCETOC__ Category:Fanfictions (Completed)